The Last Jews in Berlin, Leonard Gross
The Last Jews in Berlin, Leonard Gross
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The Last Jews in Berlin

Author: Leonard Gross

Narrator: David de Vries

Unabridged: 10 hr 39 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/28/2019


Synopsis

When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, approximately one hundred sixty thousand Jews called Berlin home. By 1943 less than five thousand remained in the nation's capital, the epicenter of Nazism, and by the end of the war, that number had dwindled to one thousand. All the others had died in air raids, starved to death, committed suicide, or been shipped off to the death camps.

In this captivating and harrowing book, Leonard Gross details the real-life stories of a dozen Jewish men and women who spent the final twenty-seven months of World War II underground, hiding in plain sight, defying both the Gestapo and, even worse, Jewish "catchers" ready to report them to the Nazis in order to avoid the gas chambers themselves. A teenage orphan, a black-market jewel trader, a stylish young designer, and a progressive intellectual were among the few who managed to survive. Through their own resourcefulness, bravery, and at times, sheer luck, these Jews managed to evade the tragic fates of so many others.

Gross has woven these true stories of perseverance into a heartbreaking, suspenseful, and moving account with the narrative force of a thriller. Compiled from extensive interviews, The Last Jews in Berlin reveals these individuals' astounding determination, against all odds, to live each day knowing it could be their last.

About Leonard Gross

Leonard Gross is the author, coauthor, or ghostwriter of more than twenty books, including the novel The Memoirs of JFK. Prior to writing books and later, films and plays, Gross wrote for a number of magazines, among them LOOK, on whose staff he served for twelve years as a senior editor, Latin American correspondent, European editor, and West Coast editor.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tim

Sometimes you have to wonder what exactly it is editors do to earn their keep. To my mind this book suffers from a very bad editorial decision. The material is organised in such a way that a lot of the reader’s intimacy with the characters is lost. The title tells the story. It’s the story of severa......more

A gripping true account of German Jews hiding in Berlin during World War II. Leonard Gross provides fascinating insight into a rarely covered subject. Written like a thriller and with an unlikely cast of helpers including Horst Wessel's sister, a pro-Nazi Field Marshal's son and a Prussian Countess,......more

Goodreads review by Toni

This is an amazing account and the real-life story of some Berlin area Jews who managed to stay alive in hiding till the end of the war after the S.S. lightning roundup of all remaining Jews in Operation Factory. Such Jews were known as “U’Boats”. This book is based on interviews of the survivors co......more